Study finds high levels of microplastics in human brains that appear to be increasing over time

Human brains contain higher concentrations of microplastics than other organs, according to a new study, and the amount appears to be increasing over time. 

In the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers found microplastics in human brains have increased 50% over the past 8 years. They also found that people with dementia had up to 10 times as much plastic in their brains as everyone else.

Microplastics are tiny fragments of degraded polymers that are found in the environment, including our air, water and soil, a news release explained. Previous studies have already shown these substances have made their way into the human body.